Digital sovereignty and global data governance: A comparative study of European and American regulatory frameworks

Abstract

Digital sovereignty is an emerging policy priority of the 21st century, particularly in light of the importance of data as a pillar of economic growth, national security and geopolitical influence. The EU and the U.S. have taken different, but comparable, steps to control and control the export of data abroad. The European approach are data protection and privacy and regulatory oversight, with extensive legal frameworks; while the United States more innovative approach, market based or governance, with concerns pertaining to national security. They are contradictory policies which affect multinational businesses, cross-border trade, international relations, and have an influence on digital governance and control throughout the world. The debate over digital sovereignty is a broader one of openness and control, privacy and surveillance, and economic integration and state sovereignty. It presents an historical overview of digital sovereignty, and discusses formal regulation, theory, problems and prospects of digital sovereignty in the framework of global governance and developing states in the digital order.